


Promises to Keep

by TheLadyBath



Series: Ohana [3]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: F/M, Family, Hurt Chin, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-18
Updated: 2015-10-28
Packaged: 2018-04-21 10:33:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 15,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4825799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLadyBath/pseuds/TheLadyBath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alyssa's first undercover case with Five-O goes terribly wrong when Chin is seriously wounded. Are her skills sufficient to keep him alive long enough for them to acknowledge their growing feelings for one another? Takes place during Ua'ahiue (Stolen) Season 5, Episode 11</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chin sighed and looked up from his computer. He could not seem to concentrate on the reports of stolen paintings. Instead, his eyes were drawn, yet again to Detective Alyssa Grant who was sitting across the office from him staring intently at her computer screen. He had know Alyssa for most of a year now, but it was not until she had transferred to Five-O that he found himself looking at her in a completely different way. He first realized that his feelings were deeper and a great deal more complex when Alyssa and Mary had been kidnapped. Seeing Alyssa hurt and vulnerable had aroused in him emotions that he had not felt in a long time and the daily proximity to the young woman blossomed into a physical and emotional attraction that he could neither deny nor quash.

 

Detective Alyssa Grant felt eyes on her and she looked up from her computer to see Detective Chin Ho Kelly looking at her speculatively. She felt a blush creep up her neck and face and she quickly looked down. "Oh, God," she thought. Was she that obvious? Did Chin know that she found him incredibly attractive? She forced herself to go back to reading insurance reports and feigning indifference. She could not let anybody know her feelings. How foolish she would look and yet, as much as she wanted to, she could not deny what she was feeling. She knew that he was ten years older than her, but did not care. She generally found boys her age incredibly immature and she appreciated Chin's life experience. Where she was, like her brother, emotional and occasionally rash, she appreciated Chin's calming and moderating influence; she saw how it worked within the team dynamic and could see, when she permitted herself to think of such things, how the two of them together could make sense. Alyssa forced herself to focus back on her work - fantasy was fun, but she was a realist and in reality, she was certain that nothing would ever come of her feelings, no matter how much she would want it to.

 

Chin shook himself. What was he thinking? Alyssa was ten years his junior and the sister of one of his best friends. And yet, he could not help himself. Not only was she lovely, she was smart, brave, and tough. Her life experience certainly made her seem older and more mature than her 26 years. Yet this did not dampen her passion and her hunger for life. He found that passion contagious and he had to admit that he felt more alive when he was with her than he had felt in a very long time. He did not know how it happened, but he found himself falling for Alyssa. He had dated sporadically since...Chin could not bring himself to finish the thought, but he knew that there was a potential for something very special. He knew that there could be repercussions to what he was going to do, but he had also learned, through painful experience, not to let an opportunity such as this be lost.

 

Chin took a deep breath, pushed away from his computer and walked over to Aly. "Hey Aly, I'm starving," he said smiling down at her, "Want to grab lunch?"

 

Aly looked up from her computer and her eyes widened as she nodded.


	2. Chapter 2

Chin and Alyssa opted for a food truck so that they could sit on the beach. They picked up their plates, walked over to a table.

Alyssa's heart was beating so quickly she was sure that Chin could hear it rattling inside her ribcage. The entire team went out frequently, but she had never been alone with Chin. She felt ridiculous - its not as if she had never been alone with a man. Its not as if this was a date. She was having lunch with a teammate. No strings. Now if only her body would listen to her brain.

Chin was nervous. He felt like a kid in high school about to ask a girl to the prom. He faced terrorists and criminals on a daily basis and he was afraid to ask a lovely young woman out to dinner. He could not help himself, but snorted in self-deprecating laughter.

Alyssa looked up from her plate at the sound and saw the smile on Chin's face. For some reason, Chin did not smile very much, and his already handsome face, was made even better looking when he seemed happy. Alyssa could not help, but smile back.

Taking this as encouragement, Chin cleared his throat, "Aly. I've wanted to ask this for a while, but could I take you to dinner some time?"

Alyssa gaped at Chin. Did he just ask her out?

She opened her mouth to speak, when Chin's cell phone rang.

Chin picked it up. "Yes. Yes. She's here too." He listened for a minute and nodded at the person on the phone. "OK. We'll head back right now. We'll be there in about fifteen minutes." Chin hung up. "Steve needs us back at Five-O. Break in the case."

Alyssa quashed her disappointment and tossed out the remnants of her lunch.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Steve, Danny and Kono were waiting for them along with Nicole Booth, the insurance investigator.

"Thanks to the work Detectives Kelly and Kalakua have done; we know where Lukas Jenssen is going to be. He is the guest of honor at a very exclusive art showing party on the island." She smiled and looked at Chin. "I think our big spender; Mr. Kelly should make an appearance. Its black tie."

"Ok, then," said Kono. "I'd better go get ready."

"Hold on a minute," Nicole said. "Its not my call, but perhaps he should go with somebody else. This is a social event. Would Mr. Kelly go with his business associate?"

"She has a point," Steve said. "Aly? You up for this? Go in, drink some champagne, arrest the bad guys?"

"Of course," Alyssa was thrilled. "There is just one problem." She smiled. "I've nothing to wear."

Kono looked at her in surprise. "Seriously?"

"Well, yeah. I've not been to too many black tie events."

Kono's smile broadened. "You know what this means?" Alyssa shook her head. "Shopping." Kono grabbed Alyssa's arm. "We'll be back in a few hours."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alyssa stared at herself in the mirror in the locker room as Kono helped her put the finishing touches on her "look". Alyssa was not used to this much attention, but she had to admit, the liked the results very much. Her hair was curled and styled much more elaborately then her usual pony tail or careless jumble of curls and her makeup accentuated her features. She had to admit that Kono knew what she was doing. She smiled at herself in the mirror and the pampered girlfriend of a rich art collector smiled back at her.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chin's mouth went dry the moment he saw Alyssa walk into the office. He had always considered her beautiful, but today she was stunning. The knee-length teal dress fit every curve and made her skin glow. Her hair seemed more golden and her blue eyes sparkled. The high heels accentuated her long legs. "Oh," was all he managed to say. Alyssa noticed the look he gave her and felt a tingle of pleasure swoop up her spine. Men generally did not look at her the way Chin was looking at her right now. Alyssa risked a saucy smile as she cast an admiring glance at Chin's tuxedo-clad form. "Very nice, Detective Kelly," she said. She was rewarded with an arched eye brow.

Steve stepped out of his office when he saw his sister walk in. He was trying to be professional, but nothing was going to change the fact that it was his sister standing there. "You look beautiful," he said. Then Steve got down to business. "Be alert and be careful. This should be very straightforward. Are you armed?" Alyssa nodded and patted her thigh under her skirt where her Kahr semi-automatic pistol was concealed inn a special holster. Steve nodded, he wanted to say more, to tell her to be careful and that Chin would look out for her, but, of course, he didn't. Instead he caught Alyssa's eyes in an intense gaze and he willed her to read what was on his mind. Alyssa gave him a small, knowing smile and nodded slightly.

"Right then. You two ready to go?" He handed Chin a set of glasses, "These have a microphone and a camera. We'll be monitoring you two the whole time."

Kono was standing back observing the exchange. While Steve may have been oblivious to Alyssa's and Chin's exchange, Kono did not miss the look in her cousin's eye. "Interesting," she thought. She would definitely need to have a chat with him this was all over.

Alyssa went to get her purse. Steve desperately wanted to tell Chin to watch over his sister, but he stifled the urge. Alyssa had proven herself to be a fine cop over and over. He would not devalue what she had worked so hard to achieve; even if it was for his own peace of mind.

Alyssa and Chin set in the back of the sedan which was being driven by an undercover detective. Although she had worked undercover before, Alyssa was nervous. This was her first operation as a member of the Five-O team. She needed to make sure that Steve did not regret his decision to bring her over from HPD. She wanted - no - she needed to impress him not just because he was her commanding officer, but also because he was her big brother.

Alyssa chewed on the inside of her cheek. When she had gone undercover before, she was alone and did not need to worry about anybody else. Going in with a partner was much harder and she was frightened. She had never had to be responsible for another person before. Of course, she understood that this teamwork made Five-O what it was, but it did not quell the quaking in her stomach as she watched the road and saw the large ornate house on the beach that was their destination.

Chin watched the emotions ripple across Alyssa's face and realized that she was falling victim to nerves. Looking straight ahead, so as not to embarrass her, Chin slid his hand over and placed it over Alyssa's, squeezing her hand ever so gently. "It'll be fine," he said. "I promise."


	3. Chapter 3

The uniformed "chauffer" opened the car door and Alyssa stepped out. She walked up to Chin who, in his persona as Mr. Kelly, nodded to her, took he arm and placed it firmly into the crook of his elbow.

Alyssa noted that several other guests were looking at her; the men with something that she would have called appreciation, the women with something substantially less pleasant. Alyssa kept her eyes open and concentrated on analyzing her surroundings. She was there to do a job.

She and Chin went inside into the gallery. Alyssa was not an art aficionado, but even she caught her breath when she saw the paintings lining the walls. She was able to identify a Monet, a Van Gogh, a Rembrandt and one Matisse. But there were so many more that she could not identify. The gallery housed hundreds of millions of dollars in art work and she was certain that at least some of those paintings had a questionable provenance.

All of a sudden, she felt Chin tense. She looked up and followed his eyes. They rested on a man standing in front of a Van Gogh painting - Lukas Jenssen. "Easy," Chin whispered. "Just watch..."

Just then, the sound of gunfire tore through the air.

People screamed and dropped to the ground. Alyssa and Chin crouched too, ready to spring into action. There were four armed men including Jenssen. They were armed with what looked like Heckler and Koch Submachine guns.

"This is a robbery, ladies and gentlemen," Jenssen said. "Everybody remain calm and everybody will get out alive."

Alyssa looked at Chin. He was wearing the glasses. Steve and the Five-O team knew what was going on and they would be rushing in...

That was when Jenssen activated what must have been the security protocol for the gallery. Doors swung shut and locked and metal shutters came down on the windows. They were locked in and the Five-O team was locked out.

Alyssa looked over at Chin again and he nodded at her. Everything was going to be OK.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Outside, Steve, Kono, and Grover were crowded around the laptop that Jerry had set up watching what was going on inside the gallery through the camera in Chin's glasses. They had heard the gun fire and instinctively reached for their own weapons, only to realize the next moment that there was no way in since the gallery's security was triggered and the doors and windows were locked. All they could do was watch their teammates.

Steve's mouth was pressed into a hard line as, through the camera, he saw Alyssa crouch with the rest of the guests. He saw her glance at Chin, saw the concern in her eyes, but also noted that she was calm and watchful. "That's my girl," he thought to himself.

Kono turned to Steve. "So what do we do now, boss?"

"We wait."

Steve saw Kono make a face, she did not like that answer any better than he did, but that was the best that he could do. Doing anything rash would jeopardize the people in the gallery.

Nicole came over to Steve, a tablet in her hand. "Much of the art is on display, but the truly valuable pieces, the ones that may not have been acquired entirely honestly - those are in the vault. That is what Janssen is after."

"He has already shot and almost killed one person," Steve said. "He and his people are ruthless. We need to get them out here into the open to limit any casualties."

The team nodded and went back to watching the action inside the gallery.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alyssa's eyes moved from one armed man to another. They were spaced around the room. Three of them covering the room of terrified, cowering people while Janssen was working on opening up the vault. If they were very, very lucky, Janssen would get what he wanted, head out with his goons, and would be stopped by the rest of the Five-O team waiting outside.

Her attention was drawn to a woman who was rocking and whimpering. The woman was slightly older than Alyssa and was clearly terrified. Her whimpers got louder and louder as her hysteria built. Alyssa crawled over to her and attempted to calm her.

She put her arm around the distraught woman. "Hi. I'm Alyssa," she said quietly. The woman barely looked up and continued to rock and moan. "I need you to calm down. It will be OK," Alyssa said, unconsciously echoing Chin's words.

"It won't be OK," the woman was not going to let herself be comforted. "They are going to kill us all. I know they are." She continued to keen even as Alyssa tried in vain to comfort her.

One of the armed guards had finally had enough and he moved towards the woman. Alyssa tried to dissuade him, "She'll be OK. Just give me a minute to calm her," but the man would not listen. He raised his gun, butt pointing toward the woman, preparing to strike her. The woman screamed and Alyssa moved to shield her from the blow that she was certain was coming.

Out of the corner of her eye, Alyssa saw Chin move past her to block the armed man from getting anywhere near the two women.

Afterward, Alyssa always had trouble reconstructing exactly what happened since everything started moving very fast. A short burst of gunfire rang out. Instinctively, Alyssa turned her head away from the sound and her body toward the cowering woman.

A moment later, Alyssa looked up again trying to assess the situation. She saw Chin staggering back from the weapon and momentarily assumed that he was moving away from the sound of the shots which were particularly loud in the small space. She saw the man step on Chin's glasses, grinding the lenses into dust.

Alyssa looked up at Chin and her heart plummeted. His face was deathly pale and, as he reached for what seemed to be his pocked square, she saw a red stain begin to spread from under the left side of his tuxedo across the white expanse of his shirt.


	4. Chapter 4

Steve pushed himself away from the laptop. "What the hell happened?"

Nobody answered as it was clearly a rhetorical question. They had all seen and heard it all thanks to Chin's glasses. They saw the gun being raised, and the muzzle flash and they heard the sound of the bullets leaving the barrel. Then essentially there was nothing as the glasses went flying through the air and were smashed. Nobody knew what happened and each team member was left with his own thoughts about the worst case scenario.

This was the part of command that Steve hated. He knew with a terrifying certainty what had happened - Chin had been shot - he had no way of knowing how bad it was, but he did knwo that there not a damn thing he could do about it at the moment. He knew also that Aly had medical knowledge and that she would do all that she could for Chin. What he also knew was that two people under his command - two people for whom he was responsible and for whom he cared deeply - were in trouble and for the moment there was nothing he could do about it. Steve pushed the thoughts of what could be happening to the back of his mind and focused on what he could do right now.

He walked over to Kono who was still staring at the computer, willing it to show her that her cousin was OK. He put his hand on her shoulder. "Kono," he said quietly and she jumped at his touch. She turned and looked at him, her eyes full of concern and anger. "Are you OK?" Steve asked.

"I will be," she looked at him with troubled eyes, "Once we get these bastards."

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The moment that Alyssa saw that Chin was wounded, she went into a sort of auto pilot. It was muscle memory from her tour as a Navy Corpsman in Afghanistan. Before she even realized it, she was on her feet, leaving the crying woman to the ministrations of some of her companions. She had her arm around Chin's waist and her shoulder under his right arm as she gently lowered him to the ground. She was terrified of what she would find when she examined the wound and that her skills would not be sufficient to help him, but she pushed those thoughts aside and focused on getting the job done.

She heard Chin's breath hiss through his teeth as the pain became too much to bear. Her heart clenched, but she kept working. She was on her knees by his side and she touched his face gently. "It will be OK, " she said. "I will get you out of here and get you some help."

Chin was fumbling with his tie, his fingers clumsy. "Here. I'll do it," Alyssa said, gently taking his hand and pulling it away from the tie. She untied the tie and removed it. Alyssa removed the jacket and shirt causing Chin to gasp in pain as she maneuvered the clothing away from his injury. Suddenly, Alyssa felt Chin's hand on her wrist and looked into his face.

"How bad?" the voice was weak and full of pain, but steady.

Alyssa forced herself to look at the wound. Mercifully it appeared that only one of the three bullets struck Chin, but it was enough. "Its not that bad," she tried to sound positive, but knew her lie was not convincing.

"How bad?" Chin repeated.

Alyssa took a deep breath. "I've seen worse. The bullet entered slightly below the collarbone and a little bit above the heart. I don't know how close to the heart it is, so you need to lie very still so it does no more damage."

Chin did not let go of her hand, "And?"

Alyssa took a deep breath and continued. She owed Chin the truth. "The bullet knicked an artery - either the SubClavian or the Axial, I don't know which, but I can tell by the color of the blood and the pressure of the blood flow. You're bleeding heavily and a lot of it is going into your chest cavity. I need to see what I can do to stop the bleeding."

Alyssa looked around. At least when she was a Corpsman, she had equipment and tools. What she wouldn't give now for a simple pressure bandage.

One of the other tuxedo'ed men dropped on his knees by her side. "I'm a doctor. What can I do to help?"

"Trauma surgeon?" Alyssa asked hopefully.

"Plastic," the doctor replied.

"Fabulous," she thought.

"OK. I need as many tuxedo jackets as you can get." The wool was absorbent and would work as to staunch the blood. Also she could cover Chin as he would soon be cold due to shock. "Also, I need several belts - at least four."

The doctor looked confused, but in the face of direct orders delivered in clipped, authoritarian tones, he did not argue.

Chin's breathing was becoming shallower and he had started to sweat. Alyssa noticed that his eyes were closing.

"Oh, no, you don't" she said. "Open you eyes. Stay with me. You have made me a promise and I expect you to keep it."

Chin managed to raise an eyebrow in question," You told me that everything was going to be OK, so I expect you to keep your promise." Alyssa tried to keep her tone light, but it came out shaky with emotion.

The doctor was back momentarily. Alyssa folded one of the jackets into multiple layers, placed it against the wound and cinched it in place with several belts. As she tightened the belts to create a makeshift pressure bandage, Chin arched his back and gritted his teeth at the pain. "I'm sorry," Alyssa choked out. "I need to control the bleeding." She touched his face again. Chin looked at her and nodded.

"Gun," he whispered. It took Alyssa a moment to understand what Chin was asking for, but she quickly understood. She made a pretense of examining him for other injuries and reached for the ankle holster on his right leg. She covered it with a jacket she was using as a blanket and gently slid it under Chin's thigh, right by where his uninjured hand was.

Chin's right hand was at his side and Alyssa reached out and took it in hers. She held on tightly, trying to convey all that she was feeling although she could not even define her feelings for herself. Chin squeezed her hand as if trying to reassure her that everything would be OK and she almost burst out crying. She could slow down the bleeding, but she would not be able to stop it. Unless something happened soon, she would lose him. She reached out with her other hand and brushed back the hair on his forehead. Chin closed his eyes and accepted the tender gesture.

The man who had shot Chin was standing close by, holding his gun at the ready. "Please," Alyssa begged. "He needs help. Let me get paramedics to take him to the hospital. He'll bleed to death otherwise." Her hand was on her purse.

She heard the guard cock the trigger. "Touch that again," he growled, "and you'll join him."

Alyssa glared at the man, but moved her hand, and checked Chin's bandage which was already soaked with blood.

"Aly," Chin found that he could not get his voice above a whisper now. "I need to tell you something."

Alyssa was fighting back tears, "No. Not now. Tell me when you take me to dinner. When this is all over," she whispered back around a big lump in her throat."

He was having some trouble breathing and Alyssa, with the help of the doctor, lifted him into a sitting position up against the wall. The effort elicited a gasp of pain from Chin and the movement clearly exhausted him.

"I'm sorry, Aly. I'm not sure that I am going to be able to keep my promise." Chin's voice was getting weaker as was his grip on her hand.

Alyssa, looked into his eyes, willing him to continue fighting. She was just starting to realize what he meant to her and that she could not; would not lose him.

Suddenly, Chin's eyes widened and with strength born of desperation, he pushed her away. "Down," he yelled. Alyssa saw him reaching for his gun even as she flung herself to the ground and tucked into a roll. She heard three shots, a scream cut short, and then the sound of a body falling.

The gallery again dissolved into screams, but mercifully the shocked crowd remained crouched and kneeling.

As she rolled, she reached for the weapon at her thigh. Thanks to the training Steve insisted on for the team, she was able to come up into a crouch, gun at the ready and surprise the second gunman . He was turning to face her and Chin, but she was faster, and her short burst, brought him down. At this moment, Jenssen deactivated the security and the doors and windows opened.

The panicked crowd stampeded out and Jenssen and his thug were carried with them. Alyssa holstered her weapon and quickly returned to Chin's side.

She could hear his labored breathing in the now-quiet room; he was fading very quickly. She grabbed the phone out of her purse and dialed Steve.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Five-O team saw the security blinds roll up and saw the doors open. Momentarily a screaming crowd ran out of the building like a torrent of water draining from a tub. Steve and the team searched the crowd for Alyssa and Chin as well as for Jenssen.

Steve saw the thief, but could not shoot because of the civilians in the way. Jenssen jumped into a car and started driving, only to be stopped by Jerry who drove the surveillance truck into the side of the car. At the same time, Kono had identified the last gunman and when he had moved away from the crowd, she approached and ordered him to surrender. Finding himself on the business end of a rifle, he quickly dropped his weapon and raised his hands.

Steve was searching the crowd still pouring out of the building when his phone rang.

"Steve. Chin's hurt. Badly," Alyssa's voice was shaking, "I need paramedics. Please hurry."

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Alyssa hung up her phone. She took the gun out of Chin's hand, and put the safety back on. She then took his hand in hers. "Help is coming. Please, hold on. Please."

Chin looked at her, she saw a thin trickle of blood come from the corner of his mouth. "I'm sorry, Aly. I wanted...," Chin's eyes drifted closed and his head lolled to the side even as Steve ran into the now-empty gallery with the paramedics.


	5. Chapter 5

As the paramedics lifted Chin onto the gurney, Steve bent over and helped Alyssa stand up. They stood together with his hands on her shoulders until they were ready to wheel Chin out. Alyssa looked up at Steve over her shoulder and when he nodded, she took a deep breath and ran after the gurney.

Kono was standing by the ambulance and ran over to the gurney to see Chin, the moment he was wheeled out of the gallery. Her her face crumbled and she started to cry the moment she realized how grave her cousin's condition was. Coming up behind the gurney, Alyssa looked at Kono with concern. "You should go with him," she said, but Kono shook her head.

Through her tears, she said, "No. You've gotten him this far. Get him the rest of the way." Then in a voice that rose barely above a whisper, she added, "Please."

Alyssa nodded, touched Kono's hand quickly and pulled herself into the ambulance.

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One of the benefits of luxury enclaves such as the one they were leaving was that they were far from everything. An advantage for those who wanted privacy, but it made for a harrowing trip to the hospital since nothing was close.

It did not take a medical expert to see that Chin was in distress. His breathing was shallow and labored and although the paramedics placed an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth, his lips were still turning blue. The monitors were indicating he was not getting enough oxygen.

Alyssa watched for a moment, understanding exactly what she was seeing. Chin had been bleeding into his chest cavity and the blood was compressing his lungs impeding his ability to draw breath. At the rate he was going, he was not going to make it to the hospital. Again, her training took over.

"He has a Hemothorax," she said loudly and with authority. "He needs a chest tube now or he won't make it."

The paramedic looked up from the monitors and looked at Alyssa. "The road is too uneven; we cannot perform it while we drive. We need to wait until the road evens out or we get to the hospital."

"The hell with that," Alyssa said. During her tour, she had inserted chest tubes under fire in the dessert, in helicopters avoiding mortar fire, and in Humvees driving on non-existent roads. There was a risk, but she knew with a frightening certainty that Chin was running out of time.

"He won't make it to the hospital. I've seen this in Afghanistan. Please."

The paramedics exchanged looks, "You've done this?"

Alyssa just nodded, not taking her eyes off Chin.

"Get some gloves on, we'll assist," the head paramedic said.

Alyssa grabbed gloves and mask. "Get me a chest tube kit," she ordered. She could do this. She would do this. She looked at the monitors and saw that there was no choice. She made sure the restraints were firm. "Make sure you have the bandages ready." she admonished the paramedics. This is going to go fast.

Alyssa took a deep breath, opened the kit and went to work. The process was as bad as she remembered, but as the blood drained through the tube, Chin's breathing improved and his lips lost the blue tinge. Alyssa found that she could breathe too.

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Alyssa was beginning to really hate the hospital. She had spent entirely too much time there. She held Chin's hand until he was wheeled into surgery. All of a sudden, she found herself exhausted. Somehow she managed to drag herself into the waiting room and collapsed into a chair. Her head dropped into her hands which were resting on her knees. She did not realize that she had started to rock back and forth as the tears she had been holding back finally came.

That is how Kono found her. "Hey Kaikaina" she said gently as she squatted in front of the younger woman. "I know. Its hard. The waiting is the worst. But Chin is strong." Kono did not know if she was saying the words for her benefit or for Alyssa's.

Alyssa lifted her tear-stained face and Kono gasped. Alyssa was covered in blood. Her dress, her arms and hands and even her face was streaked with blood; proof of her efforts to keep Chin alive. For a moment, Kono's worry for her cousin was pushed to the background as she saw the anguish and confusion in Alyssa's eyes and realized that her friend was in shock. She put her arms on Alyssa's shoulders and lifted her up. "Come on. Lets get you cleaned up," she said, as she led Alyssa into a room that a nurse indicated.

Kono sat Alyssa on the bed, moistened a wash cloth with warm water and began to wipe Alyssa's face. She gently washed Alyssa's face and her arms. One glance at the dress and it was clear that it was a complete loss. "I'll be right back," she said. "I'll go get you a set of scrubs to change into." She met Steve on her way to the nurse's station.

Kono responded to the questions in Steve's eyes. "We've not heard anything about Chin yet, but Aly is in room 3B," she pointed toward the open door. "She's pretty shaken up. I think she really needs you right now. I'll go get scrubs for her." Steve nodded and almost ran to the room where Alyssa was waiting.

Alyssa was staring at the floor, but looked up when Steve walked in. He noticed that she was shaking and gently took her into his arms. "Its OK. Everything will be OK. You did really well," he whispered. For a moment Alyssa reveled in the warmth and strength of the embrace, but then, with a gasp, she stiffened and pushed against Steve's chest. Surprised, Steve let her go.

Alyssa reached for her concealed holster and withdrew her gun. She released the magazine and ejected the bullet in the chamber. She then handed the gun to Steve, butt first. Steve took the weapon, looking confused.

"Sir," she said formally. "I am handing in my weapon, pending a full investigation of the officer-involved shooting." Then Steve understood. He was her commanding officer and she was following HPD protocol since she had been involved in shooting a suspect. Steve recalled reviewing Alyssa's file when he was considering having her transferred to Five-O and realized with a pang of guilt that he had known that she had never had had to use her weapon on a suspect prior to coming to Five-O and that it had been his responsibility to prepare her for the eventuality.

"Tell me what happened," he said quietly. He wanted to put his arm around her, but she needed to retain her professionalism, not run to her big brother. She sat on the edge of the bed and began to speak.

"Once Jenssen locked us in, there was a woman who became hysterical," Alyssa's voice was a monotone. "I went over to calm her down. One of the armed guards was annoyed. I am not sure what he was going to do, but I think he was going to hit her. I tried to block him and to protect her. Then Chin," her voice broke, "Chin got in between me and the guard and was," she started to cry, "...and was shot." She was choking on her tears, and Steve had to practically sit on his hands so he would not pull her into his arms and hold her until the pain went away.

Alyssa took a steadying breath and continued. "I was trying to take care of him and then he yelled for me to drop and he pushed me away. I rolled away and heard him shoot one of the guards. Then I came up and...," her brows furrowed and all color drained from her face, "and...I...Oh, God." She jumped off the bed and ran to bathroom. Steve heard her gagging.

Steve walked in. He knelt by Alyssa and held her hair and stroked her back. He put a cold washcloth on her neck and when her stomach was empty, the heaving had stopped and she began to sob, he finally gathered her into his arms, carried her from the bathroom, and held her until she had expended all her tears and was resting in his arms physically and emotionally exhausted.

"I never had to shoot anybody before," Alyssa said.

"I know," Steve said. "Its always hard, but you did what you had to do. You did your job and protected civilians. I should have prepared you for this, but I didn't and for that I am really sorry." He stroked her hair as he spoke and felt her start to relax.

"I did what I could for Chin, Steve. I tried my best." It was important to Alyssa that Steve understand how hard she had tried to save his friend and teammate.

"I know you did, Aly. Nobody could have done more. Chin knows it and so do we all," Steve said with incredible gentleness.

Eventually Steve stood up and helped Alyssa up. "Come on, little sister. You'll feel better once you've cleaned up and we'll go see if there are any updates on Chin's condition."

Steve waited outside, while Alyssa showered, and changed into scrubs. She stepped out of the room to see Kono and rest of the team waiting. She walked up to Kono who pulled Alyssa into a hug. Alyssa buried her face in Kono's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Kono," she whispered.

Kono gently held Alyssa at arm's length. "Sorry? You have managed to keep him alive. I don't think anybody could have done more for him. You got him here...he has a chance because of you." Kono looked at Alyssa. "Thank you," she whispered as she pulled Alyssa back into a hug.

Just at that moment, the team heard the doors to the operating room swing open. Kono released Alyssa and turned around to face the door. Alyssa saw a man in blood-covered scrubs approach the team. She was desperately trying to read his face, but it was noncommittal. She felt her whole body tense even as her knees became weak. "Oh God, please," she whispered under her breath as the doctor opened his mouth to speak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a little bit of medical stuff in this chapter. I tried to make it accurate, but please let me know if there are glaring errors


	6. Chapter 6

Alyssa found she could not breathe as her eyes focused on the surgeon. Steve spoke for the entire team. "How is he?" he asked.

The surgeon took a deep breath and spoke. "Detective Kelly is holding his own." he said. "Its been touch and go and we've gone through 8 pints of blood just to stabilize him, but he is stable now and we have begun the surgery."

Alyssa released a breath she had not realized she was holding as the doctor continued. "The bullet had damaged his Subclavian artery and we are in the process of addressing that. We do not think the bullet has done any damage to the heart, however, which is good news. Barring any unforeseen complications, we will be done in a few hours."

At this point the doctor stopped and looked over the team. "I just want to say that there is no earthly reason that Detective Kelly should be alive now. He was extremely fortunate to have received some of the best field trauma treatment that I have ever seen." When he noticed that the team was focused on Alyssa, he turned to her. "Young lady, are you responsible for the care Detective Kelly received?"

Alyssa nodded, unable to speak . "Where did you receive such training?"

"The Navy, Sir." Alyssa looked down uncomfortable with the attention.

"Young Lady. If you ever decide on a career outside of law enforcement, come talk to me; you can have a great career in medicine."

"Was it enough?" Alyssa asked. At the end of the day – that was the only question that really mattered

"Young Lady, I am going to do everything in my power to make sure that it will be." The doctor touched Alyssa's hand, turned and walked back into the operating room."

Alyssa and the rest of the team watched him go. Danny, trying to lighten the mood, offered. "Can I buy anybody a lousy cup of hospital coffee?"

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Alyssa thought that with the coffee she had drunk and with her nerves jangling as they did, she would never be able to sleep. However, she drifted off in her chair in the waiting and was jarred awake by the sound of the operating room doors opening as the surgeon walked through.

"Doctor?" Steve's one word question was all that was needed.

The surgeon took a deep, tired breath, "Detective Kelly has made it through the surgery and is currently in Recovery. It will still be touch and go for a while and there is always a danger of a post-op infection of Pneumonia because his lungs have been compromised. He currently has a breathing tube which we will keep until we are sure his lungs are strong enough. However, he is doing as well as can be expected and we should all be grateful for that."

"Can we see him?" Steve asked.

"For now, its family only," the doctor said. "I am hopeful that by tomorrow morning, he will be able to receive more visitors."

Alyssa looked at Kono. "Well, go on," she said gently. "Chin shouldn't be alone." The two women hugged and Alyssa looked on with a bit of jealousy as a nurse led Kono away to see Chin.

"C'mon, Aly," Steve said. "Lets go home. We'll get a burger on the way home and you can crash at my place. I'll bring you back to the hospital tomorrow morning on my way to work." Aly would have preferred to go home to be alone with her thoughts, but, as exhausted as she was, she could not face the drive. She sunk down into the seat of Steve's car and focused on staying awake until they got to the house.

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Since they were both so tired, Steve went through a drive-thru and they ate their dinner in the car on the way home. When they got to Steve's house, Alyssa went upstairs to a guest bedroom that had become "hers" and changed into shorts and a tee shirt. She came down stairs again and joined Steve on the couch in front of the TV. "How about a beer?" Steve asked. "Should help both of us sleep after the day we had." Alyssa nodded.

Steve went into the kitchen, pulled two beers from the refrigerator, opened them and headed back into the living room. His eyes landed on his sister and he smiled gently. In the few minutes that he had been gone, Alyssa had curled up on the couch with a decorative pillow under her head and had fallen asleep. Rather than disturb her, he pulled an afghan out of the closet, covered her, smoothed her hair back from her face and went upstairs to bed.

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Alyssa's eyes flew open and she sat bolt upright. She was not sure what woke her up, but she was perspiring and her heart was racing. She sat still for a few minutes waiting for her fight or flight instincts to subside. When her breathing and heart rate slowed and she realized that she was unlikely to go back to sleep, she got off the couch and walked toward the sliding door to the back yard. Quietly, so as not to wake up Steve, she slid open the door and walked out on the grass and toward the sandy beach.

Steve was a sound sleeper, but years as a Navy Seal also made him sensitive to sounds that did not belong. The moment he heard the door slide open, he was awake and sitting up in bed. He had a pretty good idea of what was going on. He threw a tee shirt on and walked down stairs.

Alyssa was sitting on the sand, her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms around her knees. The sand felt cool and soft and somehow refreshing. The air was cool and smelled of flowers and salt. The breeze whipped her hair around her face. She was so lost in thought that she did not hear Steve walk up behind her.

"Hey, Aly," Steve said quietly, not wanting to startle her. Unfortunately, he was not successful and she flinched at his words.

"Sorry," she mumbled, embarrassed. "I did not hear you."

Alyssa took a deep breath. "How do you do it, Steve? How do you deal with stuff like this? The waiting? The not knowing?" Alyssa did not mention the abject fear of losing somebody for whom she thought she was developing feelings.

Steve looked at Aly, her face ghostly in the moonlight and considered his answer. He could lie to her and make her feel good, he could say something that sounded smart, and make himself appear wiser than he was, or he could brush of the question as existential and something she would have to resolve for herself. He did none of those things; he told Alyssa the truth.

"God, Aly. I really don't know," he sighed as he lowered himself to sit next to her. "I think you just hope you have somebody else that will go through it with you."

"He was my partner, Steve," Alyssa's voice was plaintive. "My partner and I let him down. Its my…"

"No!" Steve's voice was decisive even as he gently took her chin to make her look up into his eyes. "This was not your fault. You did your job and Chin did his. You helped get him to the hospital – you heard the doctor. He wouldn't have made it without you. You have to stop blaming yourself – its not helping you or Chin."

"Steve?"

"Yeah, Aly?"

"I'm afraid of losing him." Alyssa's voice sounded small and scared.

"Me too, Aly," Steve sighed, "me too."

The brother and sister sat side by side on the sand listening to the ocean and watching the horizon until the sky started to turn pink with the promise of a new day.


	7. Chapter 7

Chin drifted in some in-between state that he could not identify. There was, mercifully, no more pain and the elephant that had been sitting on his chest had moved on allowing him to take a breath. However, there were no sensations in this place. There was nothing in this place, no color, no light, no sound; just the absence of everything. Chin was not frightened, but he was somewhat curious. As he did not seem to have the ability to influence his surroundings or what was happening to him, his mind became focused on reliving the recent events in an effort to make some sense of them and how ended up in this place.

He recalled his interrupted lunch with Aly. He cursed himself for not getting an answer on his dinner invitation. He recalled how she looked in the cocktail dress as they were getting ready to go undercover. He then remembered promising her that everything was going to be OK and could not help laughing at the irony; he thought he would need to take care of her and she took care of him.

He thought back to the gallery and sitting under the watchful eye of the men with the guns. He clearly saw in his mind's eye, Aly trying to comfort the woman and the gun toting thug who had made a move to hurt her. Chin only wanted to intercept the man and to distract him to keep him from hitting Aly which he was certain the man had planned to do. He had apparently enraged the man who opened fire, shooting him. Chin most definitely recalled the tearing pain as the bullet entered his body. He then remembered Alyssa's calm voice and gentle, competent hands trying to keep him alive. He recalled holding her hand and hanging on to the sound of her voice. He was certain that he would not have fought as hard for anybody else.

Then the gunman was again coming after Aly. Maybe he thought that she was getting too close to him. Maybe he saw some form of rebellion in her eyes, but again Chin, acted. This time, he killed the bastard. His last memory was of Aly pleading for him to hang on - unfortunately, he had disappointed her - he had not kept his promise - everything was not going to be OK.

As they inevitably did, Chin's thoughts turned to Malia. He had loved her and when she was murdered, he had lost his will to live. It was not that he had developed a death wish or did anything crazy on the job. He just stopped caring whether he lived or died. He went through his life mechanically - just going through the motions - not paying attention to life around him. He missed Malia, desperately. He missed her every day of his life and he always would. But that dark, ugly empty place was no longer there; or at least it was much smaller and less intense. In its place was a warm place that felt remarkably like happiness and contentment and at the center of it was Aly. His pain at losing Malia would never completely go away, but now in addition to the pain there was something new and wonderful that was trying to take root in his heart. He just needed to be brave enough to take a risk and reach for it.

Before meeting Aly, Chin would have sought the oblivion that he was currently experiencing as a balm to his pain and loneliness. He would have burrowed into it as into a blanked and forgotten everything just as he would have hoped everybody would forget about him. But not now; not any more. Not since he met Aly and she aroused in him feelings he had believed he was no longer capable of having.

A flash of insight penetrated into Chin's somewhat foggy consciousness. He realized that right now, right at that moment, he missed Aly. He missed her laugh, her compassion, her dry sense of humor and her ability to find something ridiculous in everything. He missed her hunger and passion for a life fully lived.

Suddenly, Chin realized that for the first time in several years, he did care about living and that he actually wanted to live. He wanted to see Aly again. To be with her. To spend time with her. To learn all he could about her. To see if the two of them together made sense and stood a chance. To, maybe-just maybe, make a new life for himself where he was allowed to be happy. With this realization, Chin's world flooded with light, color and sound.

He heard the beeps and buzzing of machinery and the whisper of voices and felt bright light from an overhead light shining in his eyes. He felt the cool sheets and pillow on which he was lying and then, suddenly, he gasped as he felt the remembered pain of his wound. The intensity and the unexpectedness of the pain elicited a moan and that moan woke him up completely.

Chin opened his eyes to find himself staring into slightly red-rimmed, but perfectly clear and perfectly beautiful blue eyes.


	8. Chapter 8

Several hours earlier

Alyssa exited the shower and wrapped a towel around her dripping form. She and Steve had stayed up most of the night and she desperately needed this to feel even remotely human and able to face her day.

She used her hand to wipe a small circle in the steam-fogged mirror and looked critically at her reflection: a pale face gilded a rosy bronze by the sun with a sprinkling of freckles across the bridge of her nose. Dark blue eyes looked out from under a fringe of dark lashes; eyes that had seen a lot in 27 years. Alyssa looked at her hair curling damply around her face and thought that she missed the glossy waves that had framed her face yesterday. She did miss the flawless skin and the appearance of larger and bluer eyes thanks to the makeup that Kono helped her apply. She remembered the look on Chin's face when she had entered the office; she recognized or thought she recognized it – he had liked what he saw; he had thought that she looked good. She wondered wistfully if he liked her the way she normally looked.

Steve's voice calling from downstairs interrupted her reverie. "Hey Aly. I got the coffee on. It'll be ready in a few minutes and we gotta to leave.

Alyssa shook her head to clear it of thoughts that had no business being there in the first place. She huffed in frustration. How stupid was she being? She had so much more to worry about than her inconsequential concerns over whether or not Chin was attracted to her. Chin may not survive; that thought was ruthlessly quashed as well. Alyssa could not let that be the case. Chin would be OK. He had to be.

"I'll be down in five," she called and proceeded to get dressed, brush her hair and apply her usual minimal makeup.

She opened the door of the bathroom and inhaled the scent of something wonderful. "My God, Steve," she called down the stairs, "what are you making?"

"Pure Kona coffee. Direct from the Hawaiian Coffee Company," her brother ylled back. There's a mug of it waiting for you.

"I knew there was a reason I liked you," Alyssa teased as she ran down the stairs. Steve did not indulge in many luxuries, but after years of lousy Navy coffee, this was a treat they both appreciated. Having downed a cup each and

with refills in travel mugs in the car, they set off for the hospital

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The busy Charge Nurse, didn't even look up or check to make sure they were family members before providing Chin's room number and pointing Steve and Alyssa in the general direction.

Kono appeared to be dozing as she sat by Chin's bedside, but jerked awake when she heard Steve and Alyssa walk in. Alyssa noticed that her eyes were red from fatigue and crying.

"How is he?" Alyssa asked quietly.

"The doctor says that he is holding his own, but he has not woken up yet," Kono replied. It seemed that just getting the words out took a lot of effort.

"Go home, Kono," Alyssa said gently. "Get some rest. I got this. I promise I'll call if he...," Alyssa cleared her throat, "...when he wakes up." Kono stood up and with a grateful, if tired, smile and a quick hug and walked out.

"Danny and I will come by later to check on you," Steve said quietly, touching Alyssa's shoulder. Alyssa nodded somewhat absently and Steve left.

Alyssa looked around the room. It was a typical ICU room in drab white with one bed, several uncomfortable chairs and every type of machine and monitor to support somebody in critical condition from illness or injury. There was one window, but it was shut and the blinds were drawn against the bright sunlight. Alyssa earned to open the blinds and get as e some light and fresh air in, but it, somehow, felt inappropriate to do it. Alyssa continued to look around - anything to avoid looking at the man in the bed.

She had gotten used to seeing men and women seriously hurt during her time in the Navy. She had deeply cared about each and every one of the people she had treated. She had sat with them during transport to the Bagram Air Base and even longer when they were flown from Afghanistan to Landstuhl in Germany. She had thought she was inured to the visions of people hooked up to wires and tubes; she was wrong. Nothing prepared her for the sight of Chin lying in bed still and unresponsive. She could not see exactly what the surgeons had done since he was wearing a gown and had a blanket pulled up to his chest. She saw the leads plugged into various machines which monitored Chin's heart rate, his blood pressure and oxygen level. He still had a chest tube inserted to drain any remaining fluid, a tube helping him breathe, an oxygen cannula, and several IVs bags with pain medication and saline solution. She had certainly seen wounded soldiers in similar or even worse condition, but this was so different – her mind shied away from saying exactly how and why it was different, but the ache in her chest was so bad she could hardly breathe.

Alyssa reached out a hand that only shook a little bit and touched Chin's cheek. "Please be OK," she whispered. "You promised." She pulled up the chair which Kono had vacated, took Chin's hand, and prepared to wait.

Alyssa was used to long stretches of time with nothing to do. She did not quite fall asleep, but she lost focus and spent time with her own thoughts while still remaining alert to her surroundings.

Her thoughts drifted to Chin. What did she think she was doing? Was she nuts? To even contemplate being with somebody who was not only a co-worker, but also one of her brother's friends. She always claimed that she hated complications - this would be complicated, to say the least. Her luck with men, varied from terrible to non-existent - why risk this? And yet, this was different. She knew that it was, although she could not – would not say why. After everything she had been through, she still thought that she believed in love. Maybe she and Chin could have that and maybe not - it was much too early to say, but she was damned if she was going to let this opportunity pass her by and, after everything that happened to her, lose a chance, however remote, at happiness.

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After an indeterminate amount of time, she felt Chin's hand close convulsively on her hand. Her eyes flew open, but she was disappointed when she realized that he had not woken up. She watched him and realized that his eyes were moving rapidly behind his eyelids and his head was moving slightly from side to side; he was dreaming. She held his hand as he dreamed and when she noticed a frown begin to form on his forehead, she leaned down and whispered, "Chin. Its Aly. You're safe now. You're going to be OK." She repeated this almost like a mantra over and over, and the frown of discomfort eased.

Suddenly, Chin's hand closed on hers so hard that it hurt. Alyssa bent closer to Chin and stroked his face in an effort to calm him, even as she pressed the call button for the nurse. She heard him gasp and moan in pain and his eyes flew open staring wildly around. Alyssa breathed a sigh of relief. "Welcome back," she whispered feeling relief so intense her knees almost gave out.


	9. Chapter 9

Chin's eyes met Alyssa's and he tried to speak, but began to choke on the tube. In confusion and desperation that was common in people waking up from anesthesia-induced sleep, he started clawing at it. Alyssa grabbed both of his hands to keep them away from his face - God, but he was strong and the strength was intensified by his panic. She spoke calmly, but firmly. "Chin, you're OK. You have a breathing tube. Look at me. You need to calm down. I promise everything will be fine. You need to relax. Just look at me and try to breathe normally. Everything will be OK."

She was relieved when the panic in Chin's eyes began to subside, leaving behind a questioning expression. As she felt his body relax, she gently released his hands, lowering them back on to the blanket. She sat down on the edge of the bed and faced Chin. "Do you know where you are? Do you remember what happened," she asked.

Chin nodded as the memories of the last day came rushing back.

"You are in ICU and recovering from surgery. Your reaction to waking up from anesthesia is very normal. You just need to relax and let it happen." Alyssa was amazed at how calm she sounded. "Somebody is going to be in soon to look at you. For now, you just need to know that you are safe and that everything is going to be OK. Do you understand?" Alyssa was gratified when Chin nodded slightly and released his grip on her hands.

A soft knock drew her attention. She looked toward the door. A young doctor stood there and she motioned for him to come in.

"I'm Doctor Sands," he said. "I was assisting Dr. Marsden last night." He looked at Alyssa.

So that was the surgeon's name. Alyssa realized sheepishly that she had not known the name of the doctor who saved Chin's life.

"And you are? Miss..?" Dr. Sands looked at Alyssa expectantly

"Detective," Alyssa corrected him. "I'm Detective Alyssa Grant. Five-O." The doctor nodded and turned his attention to his patient.

"You, Lieutenant Kelly, are a very lucky man," the doctor said as Chin looked meaningfully over at Alyssa. The doctor did not miss the exchange and it looked like he was going to ask a question that Alyssa really did not want to answer.

To change the subject, Alyssa briskly asked, "How is he doing doctor?"

Doctor Sands made his way toward the bed as Alyssa moved to the chair she had previously occupied. Without thinking, she took Chin's right hand in hers as the doctor began his examination.

Dr. Sands first looked at the read outs on the various machines. Alyssa tracked him hoping to see an indication of Chin's condition in the look on his face. However, the expression remained studiously bland, making Alyssa wonder if there was a class in medical school teaching doctors how to control their faces. Once he was done with the machines, the doctor washed his hands and approached the bed. "I am going to examine you now," he said. Chin nodded.

First the doctor looked at the chest tube and the collection bag – there was just the barest hint of fluid in the bottom. He then pulled back the gown exposing a bandage that was stained with blood and disinfectant. Chin gritted his teeth as the doctor prodded the wound and his hand tightened around Alyssa's fingers. Alyssa squeezed back and looked to see what the doctor was seeing. The area around the stiches was deeply bruised and the stiches stood out as a rough line. But there was no swelling or any other indication of infection and Alyssa breathed a sigh of relief. "This looks good," the doctor reaffirmed what Alyssa saw. "There is no sign of infection and it looks like the stiches are holding well. There is no blood leaking and if things continue like this, I think we would be able to remove the chest tube in a day or two."

The doctor listened to Chin's breathing. "The breath sounds are good, and Oxygen saturation is in line. Lieutenant Kelly, I would like to remove the breathing tube sooner rather than later. The sooner you are exercising your lungs the less the chances of pneumonia." Chin nodded his understanding.

Dr. Sands cleared his throat and looked meaningfully at Alyssa. "I think that, perhaps Detective Grant should wait outside."

"I've seen many breathing tubes removed. I'd rather stay." Alyssa was not in the mood to mince words or lose time with diplomacy. Chin nodded his assent and the doctor shrugged.

The doctor ordered Chin to take a deep breath and then blow it our forcefully while he pulled the tube out. The process left Chin coughing and gagging. Alyssa flinched in sympathy, but in a moment Chin was able to take a shaky breath and the doctor nodded his approval. "Good. That's how it should be. I'll have the nurse give you something for the sore throat when she comes in to change the bandages," Dr. Sands said as he checked the medications in the IV and adjusted the drip to make Chin more comfortable.

"You are doing very well, Lieutenant. Dr. Marsden will check on you when he comes in in a few hours. If there is anything that you need in the interim, please tell us."

"Thank you," Chin whispered.

"Thank you," Alyssa repeated more loudly.

Once they were left alone again, Chin turned his head to face Alyssa. "Aly," Chin whispered. He had so many things that he wanted to say, but his eyes were already closing from exhaustion and the increased medication dosage.

"Shh," Alyssa soothed. "Tell me later. It will wait. Rest now."

Chin was asleep in minutes.

Alyssa gently disengaged her hand and stepped outside to call Steve and Kono to update them on Chin's progress. She then went back into the room to sit with Chin and waited to see if he would wake and finish what he had started saying. However, when Kono came in to replace her, Chin was still sleeping peacefully

The days that followed were blurred for Chin as he was still in a fog of pain and pain medication, but whenever he he woke up either Kono or Alyssa was with him.

As Chin's strength returned, he was allowed more visitors and one morning when Alyssa came in, she saw Chin sitting up in bed supported by pillows and surrounded by what appeared Chin's entire extended family. Aunties, Uncles, and assorted cousins were all gathered in the room. Alyssa saw Kono in the back of the room smiling and motioning her in.

Kono watched Alyssa enter knowing how unused Alyssa was to her noisy, large family, or any family for that matter, and smiled encouragingly. She then looked over at her cousin; Kono could not put her finger on it, she realized that something had changed. He looked more relaxed than he had just moments earlier and Kono realized with a start that Chin was looking intently at Alyssa. An idea started forming in her head as she recalled how Chin had looked at Alyssa when she came in dressed in the cocktail dress. She would definitely need to have a little chat with her cousin once he was stronger.

Alyssa made her way through the crowd smiling and shaking hands. When she reached Chin, she realized that there were no more chairs to be had. Wordlessly, Chin took her hand and pulled her down on to the edge of the bed. With a small thrill Alyssa noticed that he did not release her hand, but held it gently and proceeded to make gentle circles with his thumb on the top of her hand.

"Its OK," Kono said as she approached them. "Everybody will be leaving soon. They need to get to work and to school. That's how they do it, they visit in the morning on the way to work and then on the way home they will stop by again."

Just as she said, within a few minutes, everybody started filing out, some waving to Chin, others stopping to offer a hug and kiss or a pat on the shoulder. "I'll see them out," Kono said and walked out of the room leaving Chin and Alyssa alone.

"Aly," Chin's voice was still a bit weak and Alyssa shifter her position to face him. "I just wanted," he hesitated, "that is, I need to," he trailed off, took a deep breath and started again. "Thank you." He said simply. "You promised you would get me out and get me help and you did."

Alyssa started to protest, but Chin cut her off. "I don't remember everything, but I remember you were with me the whole time in until I got to the hospital." Chin stopped again. His forehead furrowed and his eyebrows knit together like he was trying to figure something out. "I am alive because of you." Alyssa shook her head again. She could not bring herself to think in those terms, but Chin continued, undeterred. "I was in this place - well more like no place at all. But I was there and somehow I knew that I was making a decision. I could have chosen to not come back and," Chin hesitated again, "and die. I chose to stay and that's when I woke up and saw you."

Alyssa was looking at Chin uncomprehendingly. Was he saying what she thought he was saying?

Chin smiled gently at the confusion on Alyssa's face. "Aly," he said. "I came back because of you." Chin's right hand released Alyssa's hand as he raised it to her face. He brushed away a stray stand of hair, but rather than lowering his hand, he reached for her face, cupping her cheek and tangling his fingers in the hair at the nape of her neck. Chin slowly pulled Alyssa toward him until their lips met while his left arm gently wrapped around her waist cradling the small of her back.

It was the most gentle, almost courtly, kiss Alyssa had ever experienced and yet she felt the power of the passion and feelings behind it as it left her breathless. After several moments, Alyssa broke away to look at Chin who just quirked an eye brow at her and smiled. She chewed on her lip for a moment unsure what to do, but when Chin started to pull her toward him again, she did not resist, but smiled as she threaded one hand through his hair and brushed his cheek with the other as she leaned in for another kiss. This kiss was harder and more demanding and caused Alyssa's whole body to tingle. Chin's tongue played across her lips teasing her and requesting access. Alyssa was just about to comply and part her lips when she heard a very quiet cough. She jerked up and turned to see Kono standing in the doorway beaming. "Well, its about time, Cuz," she said whimsically. "I was worried that I was going to have to draw you a diagram."


	10. Chapter 10

Alyssa felt the heat crawl up her neck and on to her cheeks and she knew she must be turning red. She steadfastly refused to look at Chin, but forced herself to look at Kono who continued to grin.

"Kono, I," she started, but Kono shook her head.

"Its cool. I was just getting tired of seeing you two exchange looks, but not do anything about it." She looked at Chin, "Looks like you did something about it, Cuz. Good for you." She turned to leave and Alyssa risked a look at Chin who seemed to understand her question and nodded to her. She smiled at him, brushed a quick kiss across his lips, jumped off the bed and ran after Kono.

Alyssa caught up with Kono in the hallway. "Kono…I…?" Alyssa found that she did not know what to say.

Kono stopped to look at her friend. "I meant what I said," she said reassuringly. "I can't think of two people who deserve to be happy than you and Chin. I'm glad that you found each. I think it will be good for both of you." Kono stopped to consider. "I know that Chin will tell you about this when he is ready, but I think you need to know now so that you can understand him better." Alyssa nodded.

Kono took a deep breath. "Chin was married. A few years ago. Her name was Malia and she and Chin were very much in love. She was murdered. It almost killed Chin. It is only now, with you, that I am starting to see the old Chin." Kono smiled. "Looks like I need to thank you again, Kaikhina, for bringing my cousin back – and in more than one way."

Alyssa's heart broke for Chin's loss, but suddenly Chin made more sense. She had always seen a quiet sadness in him and now she understood why. A fear seized her. Was she competing against a ghost for Chin's affection? Kono must have sensed what was going through her head.

"Chin cares about you, Aly. Very much. He has for a while – and neither you nor I realized it," she smiled again. "Just let it happen. Trust yourself to let it happen."

Alyssa looked at Kono thoughtfully and nodded. A thought came to her unbidden. "Oh my God, Kono. Steve."

Kono looked at Alyssa levelly. "That's between you and Steve. You tell him what you think he needs to know when you're ready to do it. If you want my advice, do it sooner rather than later, but it's entirely up to you. Your secret is safe." Kono smiled, gave Alyssa a quick hug, and then holding her at arms' length said, "Since you are now the best medicine Chin has, I suggest you get back to him." Alyssa, opened her mouth to say something, closed it, tried again and when she was not able to put her feelings into words, simply nodded to Kono, turned and headed off toward Chin's room.

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Although Chin's wound was serious, he made good progress and was released from the hospital a week later to complete his recovery at home.

Since the entire team made a point of visiting Chin as often as possible, it was not a problem for Alyssa to stop by Chin's house before or after work – or sometimes both. While there was some initial awkwardness when they found themselves alone together, knowing that there was no rush and no obligations permitted them to feel their way through. Chin and Alyssa spend hours talking. She told him a great deal about her childhood and her time in the Navy. Although Chin was initially reticent, he eventually opened up about his time with the HPD, why he resigned and how he ended up on the Five-0 team.

When the doctor permitted it, she walked with him to help him rebuild his strength and within a short while, she was meeting him in the morning for a run on the beach. At first it was barely half a mile, but Chin's perseverance soon had them running five or more miles. Alyssa loved the feeling of running on the still-cool sand with the water lapping at her feet and with Chin by her side. One morning, she was feeling playful so she turned and splashed Chin until the front of his shirt was soaked. It was still early and the water was quite cold on his skin warmed by the run. Alyssa took off running and Chin chased her, bellowing in mock anger. Although Alyssa was fast, Chin's legs were longer and he soon caught up to her. He captured her around her waist, lifting her off the ground. Initially he was going to toss her into the water, but holding her warm body to him gave him another idea. He set her down, not releasing his hold for a moment and turned her around. He changed his grip, so that his right hand was positioned squarely and securely on her back and the left one went to the nape of her neck. He pulled her in to him lowering his head until his lips met hers. They stood thus for a few minutes, each reveling in the contact, until Alyssa broke the kiss promising that there would be another one at the end of the next two miles that they yet had to run. They both resumed their run, a bit more out of breath than one would think they should be after just running three miles,

The more they spoke, the more secrets they shared and the more their emotional connection developed. Alyssa found that her attraction to Chin was growing and while the feelings were incredibly pleasurable, she was terrified. She knew what this would lead to – what she wanted it to lead to, but the very thought terrified her as well. Her luck in this area had been uniformly terrible throughout her life and she did not want to screw it up with Chin.

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One Friday several weeks later, Alyssa was at her desk at Five-O headquarters when the chirping of her phone indicated she had a text message. She reached for her phone and smiled when she realized it was from Chin. "Doctor signed the release. I'm cleared to go back to work on Monday. Want to celebrate?" Alyssa felt a warm flush spread up her neck and cheeks as she texted her affirmative response. "My place, about 6?" Chin texted back. Alyssa acknowledged and tried to focus on her work for the next hour and a half before it was time to leave.

Alyssa stopped by her apartment to shower and change. She chose a rose sundress that made her skin seem more golden and her eyes bluer. She wished she could do her hair the way Kono had, but had to be satisfied with just giving it a good brushing so that it shown when it caught the light. She drove to Chin's house and hesitantly knocked on the door. Although they had spent a lot of time together over the past several months, this would be their first official date and she was so nervous, she was sure that Chin would be able to hear her heart beat and her knees knocking together.

After just a moment, Chin opened the door. In his hand he held a beautiful lei made of carnations and roses which he placed over Alyssa's head. However, instead of stepping away from her once she had donned the lei, Chin stood close and looked into her eyes. "You look beautiful," he whispered. He brushed a kiss across her lips and smiled. "Hungry? I got reservations at seven, we'd better get going."

They ate at a small restaurant on the beach and watched the moon come up over the water. Since the house was once a private mansion, it was surrounded by gardens. After dinner, Chin took Alyssa's hand and they strolled through the gardens scented by roses, orchids and jasmine. They took their shoes off and walked on the beach. After a cocktail at the bar, Chin drove back to his house. Neither one of them wanted the evening to end so Chin invited Alyssa in for a glass of wine.

While he was in the kitchen, Alyssa looked at the pictures set up over the living room. Most were of Chin and Malia, his wife. She was gently fingering one picture when Chin walked in. He put the wine down, walked over to her, snaked his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"She was very beautiful," Alyssa said.

"Yes," Chin agreed. "She was."

"You looked so happy together."

"We were." Chin acknowledged. "When she was m…," he took a deep breath and tried again, "When she di…," Alyssa's heart broke for the pain Chin still was feeling. After another breath, Chin tried a third time. "When I lost Malia, I thought that my life was over. That I would never feel the same away again. That I would never love. I was wrong. Everything is different now, Aly. With you. But I am happy again. Like I've not been for a long time." He pulled Alyssa around to face him, taking both of her hands in his. "Aly, I am in love with you. I have been for a while."

Alyssa was speechless. She looked into his eyes so full of warmth and emotion and whispered. "I love you too, Chin Ho Kelly."

Chin pulled her into his arms and Alyssa wrapped her arms around his neck. He kissed her lips and she opened her mouth to him. She tentatively touched his tongue with hers and was gratified when she heard a low growl deep in his throat. Chin kissed her lips again, then along her jaw line and down her neck. His hands strayed to touch her breasts, when he felt her body stiffen and gasp escape her lips.

He immediately stopped and looked up. Alyssa was pale and shaking and there was a look of wild fear in her eyes. "Please, don't stop," she said. "I'm OK."

"No, Aly, you are not," Chin gently said. "I was moving too fast. I am sorry."

Tears were running down Alyssa's cheeks. "No, its me." Alyssa took Chin's hands in her own, took a deep, tremulous breath, "Chin, there are some things about me that you still don't know; some things that I have to tell you."


	11. Chapter 11

"Aly. Whatever it is, we'll handle it. It cannot be that bad. I promise I'm not going anywhere." He held her hands tighter.

"You know the story about why I took up karate?" Alyssa started tremulously as Chin nodded. "Its not entirely true. The first time….," she took a deep breath, "the first time, I wasn't able to fight them off."

Chin looked at her, his eyes darkening with concern. He had a terribly feeling he knew what she was going to say. "Aly, don't…," he started.

"No. I need to say this." She insisted through her tears. "There were three of them. They were older than me and we were all living in the same group home. I tried to avoid them. God. I tried. But one day they cornered me…I fought, as hard as I could, but it didn't matter." She gasped in some air. "Two held me down and the third one….I fought Chin, as hard as I could." She needed him to believe that. "Then," she choked out, "they took turns."

She was weeping as she looked at Chin searching his face for disgust or hate, but only saw sadness and compassion. "Oh. Aly," he whispered. He pulled her into his arms, relieved that she would permit the contact. "I am so sorry."

After a minute, Alyssa broke the embrace to look up at Chin and he spoke to her gently. "None of this was your fault. You know that, right? You did nothing wrong. There were people who were supposed to protect you and they failed, miserably."

"Nobody knows about this. I have never told anybody, except you," Alyssa continued as if she had not heard him. Chin actually doubted that this was correct. He remembered when Alyssa was delirious after her return from Brazil. Steve, who had been sitting with her, burs out of her room, face pale and lips compressed in anger. He never said what he heard from Aly, only that he needed to clear his head. Chin now thought he knew what Steve had heard.

"What happened next? Was there an investigation or anything?" Chin asked gently.

"Not much," Alyssa was matter of fact. "The decision was to avoid scandal within the foster care system. The boys were sent away and I was sent to counseling. I was 15, what did I know? After some time, they decided that I was cured." Alyssa's voice was sardonic and bitter. "Cured? As soon as I aged out, I joined the Navy where opportunity for…," she searched for the right word, "interactions, were minimal. Afterwards – well there are not many men who want to date a woman cop and those few times….well," she looked down, embarrassed, "they were not good."

"I pushed you too hard," Chin said, "I'm sorry."

"No!" Chin was surprised by her vehemence. "I want…." Alyssa was not really sure what she wanted. "I want you. I want you to make love to me. I want to know what it is supposed to be like between people who actually care about each other. Its not supposed to hurt, is it Chin?" Her question broke his heart.

"No, Aly, its not supposed to hurt. Are you sure this is what you want? You don't have to. Now or ever. I love you and I will never pressure you."

"Yes. Oh God, yes. I'm sure, Chin. Please. Please make love to me." She looked at Chin with unshed tears in her eyes.

Chin pulled her in again and buried his face in her hair. "Thank you for trusting me, Aly. We will go slowly. I swear to you, I will not hurt you. Anytime you want to stop, let me know."

He held her until he felt her body relax. He bent down to kiss her. Chin's intent was to make the kiss gentle and calming, but Alyssa's hands were on his chest and the heat he felt through the thin fabric of his shirt was driving him crazy. He crushed her lips with his and she opened her mouth and pressed against him. She moaned into his mouth, arousing him even more.

He kissed her lips, her eyes, and down her jaw to her neck and shoulders. He removed the fragrant lei, savoring the light floral scent that it left on her skin. He began to unbutton the dress, kissing the exposed flesh as each button was undone. He felt her shiver as his lips touched her skin. She tangled her fingers in his hair. Once the buttons were undone, Chin let her dress fall to the floor where it pooled around her feet. Alyssa had worked all the buttons on Chin shirt and pushed it off his shoulders. She tentatively kissed his chest and was rewarded by a low moan of pleasure. God, he was handsome with his broad shoulders and muscular chest and a flat belly that tapered into a narrow waist and hips. But the sexiest thing was how he was looking at her- with pure desire and love, tenderness and passion. Nobody ever looked at her that way. She continued to explore Chin's body with hands and mouth reveling in the pleasure she was bringing him.

Chin was trying to maintain control. He wanted her so badly, but he was determined to bring her pleasure first; to show her what it was supposed to be like. He stepped away and took her in. She was wearing a simple bra and panty. Nothing fancy or lacy, which did not surprise him – she was not a lacy sort of girl. The simplicity of undergarments only enhanced her healthy tanned body and her halo of gold hair. "Oh, God, Aly. You are so beautiful," his voice was hoarse with his desire and it made Alyssa shiver in pleasure and anticipation.

Chin reached and gently stroked her breast through the fabric. This sent a thrill through her whole body and she gasped. Chin looked at her in concern, but she smiled and nodded. Chin reached around and undid the bra, letting it fall. He stroked one breast then the other. He then bent down and kissed them one a time. He circled his tongue around the nipple and felt it harden. He repeated on the other. Alyssa stood motionless – afraid that the sensations would cease if she moved. Chin kissed her between her breasts and then worked his way down her chest to her stomach. He stopped at the waist band of her panties and stood up, taking her into his arms and kissing her.

Alyssa melted into Chin again and felt a hard bulge below his waist. She smiled to herself and applied herself to undoing his belt. She pulled out the lather band and dropped it. She undid the button and the zipper. She looked up at Chin and felt a thrill when she saw his eyes closed and head thrown back in pleasure. She let the pants drop and ever so gently brushed her finger tips across the bulge. That elicited a growl of pleasure. Chin opened his eyes, took Alyssa's hands in his own and kissed the palms. "Careful," he teased. "Or I may not be able exhibit the remarkable self-control that I have shown to this moment." Alyssa smiled pertly and stroked him again, a little harder this time. He could not contain the pleasure and moaned.

He dropped to his knees in front of Alyssa and gently pulled her panties down. Alyssa shuddered in anticipation. Chin kissed her belly and then worked his way down until he was kissing her mound. Sensations she had never experienced, coursed through her body. Chin fingers gently explored her opening and eliciting moan. The pleasure was indescribable. He kissed her most sensitive spot and it just took her breath away. He tasted her hot wetness and she cried out. He teased her with tongue and fingers until she thought she could not stand it. Her knees actually went weak and she needed to reach out to the nearby table for support as the waves of ecstasy rocked her body. Chin then stood up and gently picking her up, carried her into the bedroom.

Chin laid her on the bed and lay down on his side next to her. He stroked her hair as it fanned out underneath her. Alyssa looked at the man lying next to her. She wanted to pleasure him the way he had pleasured her. She reached out and worked his underwear off. He was fully erect. She gently took him in her hands and moved her hands up and down watching him writhe with pleasure. His breath came in gasps as he whispered, "Yes, oh yes." Her ability to elicit this reaction made her feel incredibly sexy and brave. She kneeled between Chin's legs and gently took him in her mouth. The skin was so warm and soft and dry. Except the very tip which was moist. She moved her mouth up and down experimentally and was rewarded with more gasps and moans. She sped up and felt Chin ensnare his fingers in her hair as he moved his hips in rhythm with her mouth. .

All of a sudden, an urge overcame Alyssa. She wanted more. She needed more. She needed him inside her. Not knowing exactly why Alyssa straddled Chin and slowly lowered herself onto his shaft. She cried out as he filled her and literally touched her very core. She saw Chin's eyes fly open in surprise as his body arched to bring them even closer. "Oh, God, Aly," he moaned as he reached for her. His hands went to her hips. He guided her movements until they were both panting from the sheer excitement. She raked her hands across his chest and he caressed her back.

Then, all of a sudden his hands encountered something on her back. Raised welts. They were the same texture as her skin, so he knew they were old. "Aly?" there was a question and concern in his voice.

"Another time," she whispered raggedly. "Please." She then began to move faster and, although Chin tried to concentrate, all thoughts other than the beautiful woman with him were forgotten.

He gently lifted her off him and laid her down. He moved on top of her kissing her lips and face. Kissing the hollow in her throat and her breasts. She moaned and bucked under him. "Please," she whispered. "Please, Chin. I want you so much."

Chin knelt between her legs and gently started to enter her. He groaned as she arched her hips to meet him. He supported himself on one forearm while his other hand stroked Alyssa's hair and face. Alyssa was panting with her need and began to move her hips as soon as he was fully inside her. Soon they found a rhythm and all that could be heard were moans and cries of pleasure and an occasional whispered endearment.

Alyssa had never felt anything like this. The pleasure kept increasing. She felt it start around her belly and expand outward to encompass her whole body. She cried out again and buried her face in Chin's shoulder. When Chin felt her climax, he permitted himself his own release shuddering with pleasure and whispering Ally's name into her hair. Neither one knew anything but the flow of rapture and the beating of their hearts for a long time.

When Alyssa finally became aware of things around her, she opened her eyes and looked into Chin's brown ones. He was lying on his side next to her. One arm supporting his head and the other one, possessively placed across her stomach. She looked at him in wonder, "That is what its supposed to be like?" she asked.

"Yes, with the right person," Chin answered gently, kissing her forehead. He wrapped both arms around her so that they were both lying on pillow with their eyes on the same level. Alyssa again curled herself into his body feeling warm and safe, sexy and loved.

She reached out and stroked Chin's face. "Thank you," she whispered sleepily.

"For what?"

"For keeping your promise. You said everything was going to be Ok and it was." Chin just pulled her closer to him and held on while they both drifted off to sleep.

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Some hours later, Chin awoke in the silent coolness of the night. He looked and saw that Alyssa was sleeping peacefully and again reached out to stroke her cheek. As Alyssa smiled in her sleep, Chin made another promise to himself, to Alyssa and to God. "Whatever else happens, I promise to make you feel like you feel today. I promise to love you and make sure you feel loved every day of your life." He pulled Alyssa back into his arms and drifted back to sleep.

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The sunlight was streaming through the bedroom window when Alyssa and Chin were awakened by the ringing of a cell phone. It took Chin several minutes to find his cellphone. "Yes?" he said. "Yes, I'm home. Really? Now. Donuts? Ah, ok. Just give me a couple of minutes"

Alyssa heard her phone ping with a text message and she pulled it out from under the pile of clothing to read it. Chin had hung up the phone and was looking at Alyssa with a little bemused smiled. She looked up from her phone. "That was Steve. He wants to know where I am."

Chin took a breath. "No problem. You can tell him yourself. He's at the door with donuts and coffee.

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this story. This is my first one where I tried to write a love scene. More Ohana stories to come. Please let me know what you thought. I take requests and love ideas. Thank you


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